‘The Voice’ Beats ‘American Idol’ in First Head to Head Ratings

Now that American Idolis back, The Voicehas some competition. Or, at least, everyone thought it did. Idol's 16th season premiered on Sunday (March 11) and was the least-watched premiere in the iconic show's history. On Monday (March 12), the ABC singing competition reboot went head-to-head for the first time with The Voice, and NBC's reality pillar defeated Idol in both total viewers and the adult demo.

The Voice had 11.7 million viewers and a 2.3 rating among adults 18-49, while Idol had 8.4 million viewers and a 1.8 rating. Both shows aired at the same time slot of 8-10pm. While The Voice continues to achieve impressive numbers (last night's episode was the second highest viewed telecast in the past year), many believe Idol's lackluster comeback may be the result of controversy surrounding host Ryan Seacrest, who's been accused of sexual assault by stylist Suzie Hardy. Hardy claims that Seacrest subjected her to groping and varying degrees of misconduct while she was an E! employee, which the television and radio host has denied.

"I’m distraught that anyone or any situation would call that into question. I’m proud of my workplace reputation and believe my track record will speak for itself. I’m an advocate for women. I will continue to support their voices," he told The Hollywood Reporter.